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Wow, I didn't really want to believe this, but playgrounds really did look a lot different in the 70s. Dangerous, metal... fun. Post your memories up in the comments!
Playgrounds From the 70s
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Oct 7, 2009 08:00 PM
Kids, Retro |
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We had one of these in my town until the 90's. This one one of my favorite parks in which to play. The metal felt very safe. It's hands were grooved. You could go up the center or the legs. If you find pictures of a 20' metal rocket, please post it. It was also a favorite.
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Anybody remember the hamburger cop thing in McDonalds playlands?
Metal might not be so bad in itself, but kids getting their heads stuck between the bars is a legitimate concern. I wouldn't categorize it with a lot of the codling that ends up stunting real growth. Besides, I like giant plastic tube mazes they have today, and wish I wasn't too old to get kicked out of them . . .
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I disagree heads stuck between the bars should not be a concern but rather as a learning experience. "Ok Sally, what did we learn today? Yes sticking our cute little head in between two bars is a bad idea....".
On a side note if the bars are constructed to the right specs no child can get there head through unless they can some how deform their skull. But I do have to admit the rubber play surface they have now to replace sand is awesome, if you find the right spots it feels like you are jumping on a bed.
Actually my favorite as a child was a giant random wood structure with a huge cargo net in the middle, so much fun just to lay in the cargo net with your best friend, until those icky girls came and bothered you.
Sorry I took this way to far.....
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Oh, yeah...
This seemed so much taller when I was younger
http://www.flickr.com/photos/smokey2006/3535785063/
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Oh yeah we had one of those at the park adjacent to my elementary school. I used to climb up the outside of that baby all the way to the top, that would make the park staff start yelling at me. At the top of the rocket if you were small enough you could squeeze inside the nose cone and keep the other kids out. If you REALLY want to make the park staff mad you climb the flag pole all the way up and touch the flag, that really drives em nuts. :)
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One of these still stands in a park near my home in Santa Clarita, CA. We always called that park "Robot Park" as kids. The first thing to go was access to the inside of the head...when I was younger they barred it off. Now there's a little fence around it and it stands simply as a memorial rather than a piece of playground equipment. So sad. This thing was so fun.
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And it's amazing...we all survived the '70s playgrounds.
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This thing is awesome. I have some metal working skills and I've been designing playground equipment...for myself! Seriously, if I ever have the good luck to own a home, and that home is near a hill, I'm definitely building a huge metal slide. Hello, lawsuits!
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When I was a kid there was one similar to this...though it was styled as a spaceship instead of a robot.
While climbing up one of the internal ladders, I caught my foot on the last rung, and fell face-first onto the metal. I hit my tooth so hard, it pushed 3/4ths of the way up into my jaw...luckily it came back down over the next couple of weeks. To this day, I still have a chip missing off that tooth.
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Holy cow! I didn't know those rocketship bridge playgrounds were generic! I used to go over to Burns Park in North Little Rock, AR with my parents, and play on that thing all the time when I was a kid. It was still there as of 8 years ago or so.
Safety playgrounds are no fun. Without the possibility of getting hurt, how is the kid supposed to learn how to not get hurt?
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